Count to Three
Page 1
PRAISE FOR T.R. RAGAN
Don’t Make a Sound
“Those who like to see evil men get their just desserts will look forward to Sawyer’s further exploits.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Overall, a great crime read.”
—Manhattan Book Review
“A dizzying flurry of twists and turns in a plot as intricate as a Swiss watch . . . Ragan’s warrior women are on fire, fueled by howling levels of personal pain.”
—Sactown Magazine
“A heart-stopping read. Ragan’s compelling blend of strained family ties and small-town secrets will keep you racing to the end!”
—Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of When You See Me
“An exciting start to a new series with a feisty and unforgettable heroine in Sawyer Brooks. Just when you think you’ve figured out the dark secrets of River Rock, T.R. Ragan hits you with another sucker punch.”
—Lisa Gray, bestselling author of Thin Air
“Fans of Lizzy Gardner, Faith McMann, and Jessie Cole are in for a real treat with T.R. Ragan’s Don’t Make a Sound, the start of a brand-new series that features tenacious crime reporter Sawyer Brooks, whose own past could be her biggest story yet. Ragan once more delivers on her trademark action, pacing, and twists.”
—Loreth Anne White, bestselling author of In the Dark
“T.R. Ragan takes the revenge thriller to the next level in the gritty and chillingly realistic Don’t Make a Sound. Ragan masterfully crafts one unexpected twist after another until the shocking finale.”
—Steven Konkoly, bestselling author of The Rescue
“T.R. Ragan delivers in her new thrilling series. Don’t Make a Sound introduces crime reporter Sawyer Brooks, a complex and compelling heroine determined to stop a killer as murders in her past and present collide.”
—Melinda Leigh, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author
Her Last Day
“Intricately plotted . . . The tense plot builds to a startling and satisfying resolution.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Ragan’s newest novel is exciting and intriguing from the very beginning . . . Readers will race to finish the book, wanting to know the outcome and see justice served.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Her Last Day is a fast-moving thriller about a woman seeking answers and the man determined to help her find them.”
—New York Journal of Books
“If you like serial-killer thrillers that genuinely thrill and have plenty of depth, now’s the time to discover Jessie Cole and T.R. Ragan. Dare you not to read this one in one sitting!”
—Criminal Element
“T.R. Ragan provides a complicated mystery with plenty of atmosphere, gore, and dead bodies to satisfy readers. This is not a cozy, but a hard-core mystery with a variety of victims, an egotistical killer, and a high-powered ending.”
—Gumshoe Review
“[Her Last Day] hooks you instantaneously; it’s fast and furious and that pace never lets up for one minute.”
—Novelgossip
“Readers will obsess over T.R. Ragan’s new tenacious heroine. I can’t wait for the next in the series!”
—Kendra Elliot, author of Wall Street Journal bestsellers Spiraled and Targeted
“With action-packed twists and turns and a pace that doesn’t let up until the thrilling conclusion, Her Last Day is a brilliant start to a gripping new series from T.R. Ragan.”
—Robert Bryndza, #1 international bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice
OTHER TITLES BY T.R. RAGAN
SAWYER BROOKS SERIES
Don’t Make a Sound
Out of Her Mind
No Going Back
JESSIE COLE SERIES
Her Last Day
Deadly Recall
Deranged
Buried Deep
FAITH MCMANN TRILOGY
Furious
Outrage
Wrath
LIZZY GARDNER SERIES
Abducted
Dead Weight
A Dark Mind
Obsessed
Almost Dead
Evil Never Dies
WRITING AS THERESA RAGAN
Return of the Rose
A Knight in Central Park
Taming Mad Max
Finding Kate Huntley
Having My Baby
An Offer He Can’t Refuse
Here Comes the Bride
I Will Wait for You: A Novella
Dead Man Running
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2021 by Theresa Ragan
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Thomas & Mercer, Seattle
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Thomas & Mercer are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781542093941
ISBN-10: 1542093945
Cover design by Damon Freeman
For Joe
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PROLOGUE
Dani Callahan pulled out the last tray of chocolate chip cookies, shut off the oven, and then quickly removed her apron. It was time to pick up Tinsley from her first day of kindergarten.
Although her five-year-old daughter had spent two days a week last year in preschool, and despite all the preparation of school clothes and snacks and the endless talks with Tinsley about what to expect, dropping her off this morning had been incredibly emotional.
Dani’s good friend and neighbor, Sally, had five children. She’d warned Dani the first day of kindergarten would feel different from preschool and playdates. Kindergarten was a big change for both child and parent. Letting go was hard.
Dani had been convinced she would be perfectly fine, but after saying goodbye to Tinsley, she had walked back to her car, buckled her seat belt, and then sobbed for five minutes straight.
She blamed the high emotions on the difficulty she and her husband, Matthew, had conceiving. After five years of trying to get
pregnant, they’d ended up at a fertility doctor’s office. Blood tests, sperm-level checks, yoga, and meditation then led them to IVF, where two eggs were successfully fertilized. After they implanted the first embryo, Dani miscarried. But the second embryo took hold, and despite heavy bleeding, Tinsley was born premature but healthy.
Their little miracle.
Dani had wanted a sibling for Tinsley, but Matthew had been done. “No more,” he’d said. “We have a beautiful child. Leave the rest to fate.”
Knowing Tinsley might be her only child, Dani had quit her job as a fashion and editorial photographer for a clothing store because she’d wanted to be there for Tinsley’s first step, her first word, her first everything.
Dani glanced at her watch. If she left now, she would get to the school a few minutes early. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. As she approached her car parked in the driveway, she noticed the back tire was flat.
Damn. She pulled her cell phone from her purse and called her husband. No answer. Next, she tried his assistant, Mimi Foster, who answered on the second ring.
“Hi, Mimi. It’s Dani.”
“Hi, Dani! How are you?”
“A little flustered at the moment. I’m supposed to pick up Tinsley from school, but I have a flat tire. Is Matthew in his office?”
“Afraid not. He took a late lunch and hasn’t returned.”
“He’s not answering his phone,” Dani told her. “Any idea where, or who he’s having lunch with?”
“No. Sorry. Would you like me to leave a note on his desk?”
“Sure. That would be great. Just have him call me. Thanks.”
After hanging up, she began to scroll through her contacts for the school’s number when she heard a familiar voice—Sally, from across the street.
“Car trouble?” Sally asked.
“Yes. I have a flat.”
“I’m going to the school right now. Want a ride?”
“Are you sure? Will we all fit?”
Sally held up a brown paper bag. “Plenty of room. It’ll just be me, you, and Tinsley,” she said. “Joey forgot his lunch.”
Relief flooded through Dani as she rushed across the street.
“Get in,” Sally said. “I think kindergarten gets out when the lunch bell rings.”
Dani climbed into Sally’s car and buckled her seat belt. Her insides quivered when she glanced at her watch. She was going to be late.
For such a short ride to the school, the drive felt interminably long. Dani jumped out of the SUV as soon as Sally pulled into a parking space. The buses had left, and the parking lot was half-empty.
“After I drop off Joey’s lunch, I’ll wait for you in the car,” Sally called out as Dani rushed off.
Dani and Tinsley had met her teacher, Ms. Helm, last week at orientation. She was a twenty-two-year-old, newly minted graduate. What she lacked in experience, she made up in enthusiasm and passion for being a teacher, like three generations of Helms before her.
Dani spotted Ms. Helm just outside her classroom door. The kindergarten teachers each held two classes per day, and she was in the process of greeting the children in her second class.
“Sorry I’m late,” Dani said, out of breath as she approached. “I had a flat tire of all things.”
Ms. Helm held up a finger to stop her for one quick moment while she greeted two students. A darling boy named Liam and a little girl with pigtails. Ms. Helm then looked up at Dani and said in a cheerful voice, “How can I help you?”
“I’m here to pick up my daughter, Tinsley.” Dani stretched her neck so she could see over Ms. Helm’s shoulder into the classroom. Just like this morning, some children had already found their desks, while others took great care in putting their belongings into their cubicle. There was no little girl in a flowery dress with a braid and a gold ribbon with red hearts.
Where is Tinsley? Dani’s mind swirled with speculation. Maybe Tinsley had gone to the front office. If that were the case, she would be with Sally about now. Her shoulders relaxed at the thought.
“I’m sorry,” Ms. Helm said, her brow furrowing. “But I think there has been a mix-up.” She looked Dani over, starting at her feet and working up to the crown of her head.
Dani didn’t like the worry lining the young woman’s face.
“Did you send your sister to pick up Tinsley from school?”
Dani’s chest tightened. “What? No. I don’t have a sister.”
One of the mothers assigned to help in the classroom appeared and asked Ms. Helm if she should get the kids seated and ready for class.
Ms. Helm grabbed the woman’s arm. “Would you mind watching over the class while I take care of Mrs.—?”
Relief swept over Dani. Ms. Helm didn’t know who she was, which meant she clearly had Tinsley mixed up with someone else. “I’m Mrs. Callahan,” Dani offered as her gaze swept over the parking lot and beyond. She pivoted, looking toward the noise coming from the playground, where she could hear kids playing.
“Yes, of course,” Ms. Helm said before telling the other woman she’d be right back.
The main office sat directly in front of the loop-around parking lot. Kindergarten and preschool classrooms were to the right, and first through sixth were to the left. Dani did her best to keep up with Ms. Helm, who walked at a clipped pace toward the front office, her heels clicking hard against the concrete path. “Is Tinsley in the nurse’s office?” Dani asked.
Ms. Helm said nothing. Not one word. She held her head high, her chin jutted forward, and walked stiff-legged, as if she were in a marching band.
Dani could see Sally talking to another woman near the office. “Have you seen Tinsley?” Dani asked.
“No. Why? What’s going on?”
“Not sure,” Dani said. “I’m trying to find out. I’m going to check the nurse’s office. Would you mind looking for Tinsley on the playground?”
Ms. Helm held open the office door for Dani.
“I’ll look around,” Sally said, waving her off.
The moment Dani stepped inside the front office and saw no sign of her daughter, tension rippled through her body. Tinsley was either injured or missing. That had to be why Ms. Helm had been acting so strange. Dani’s gaze fixated on a door with an engraved metal sign that read NURSE’S OFFICE. She headed that way and opened the door to an empty, sterile room. When she returned to the front area, one of the ladies behind the counter told her Ms. Helm was talking to Principal Sprague and would be right out.
“My daughter, Tinsley Callahan, is missing. Have any of you seen her?”
“I haven’t,” one of the women said.
Dani’s heart skipped a beat. A river of sweat worked its way down her spine as she headed for the principal’s office.
“Mrs. Callahan,” one of the women called out.
Dani ignored her and kept walking. When she opened the door, both women—Principal Sprague and Ms. Helm—stopped talking and looked her way.
Principal Sprague sprang to her feet. She was five foot two and had thick brown hair cut bluntly a few inches above her shoulders. Her blue eyes looked beseechingly into Dani’s as she gestured at the chair next to Ms. Helm. “Please have a seat.”
Dani remained standing. Her phone vibrated. She picked up the call when she saw that it was Matthew. “I’m at the school,” she told her husband. “You need to come right away. Tinsley is missing.” Her hands were shaking, her body trembling as panic began to take hold. She hung up. “He’ll be here in twenty minutes,” Dani said. “Have you called the police?”
“We need to follow protocol,” Principal Sprague said. “Did you ask anyone to pick up your daughter for you?”
“No,” Dani said, reining in her frustration.
“We have security cameras in place, and I’ve pulled up a video that shows a woman picking up Tinsley approximately ten minutes before you arrived.”
Dani tried to breathe. “A woman?”
Principal Sprague nodded. “Ms. Helm
tells me she thought the woman was you.”
Ridiculous. Strangled laughter escaped. “I’m right here. I dropped off my daughter this morning, and now I’m here to pick her up.”
Ms. Helm visibly swallowed before speaking. “She was the first person in line at the door when the bell rang. She smiled broadly and waved at Tinsley, who seemed happy to see her.” Ms. Helm shook her head. “The big floppy hat and sunglasses might have thrown me off.” She met Dani’s gaze. “I’m so sorry.”
Dani stared at Ms. Helm for a long second before looking at Principal Sprague, praying for this nightmare to stop.
Principal Sprague swiveled her computer on its stand so Dani could see the video on the screen.
Dani stepped closer and leaned forward as Principal Sprague hit “Play.” Her pulse raced as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. A woman stood at the front of the line outside the door to Ms. Helm’s classroom. She wore a straw hat with a wide brim. Her hair, wavy and sandy colored, swept down two inches past her shoulders. Whenever the woman looked to the left or right, Dani would catch a glimpse of her chin and neck.
Dani took in the woman’s clothes—a blue sundress and a light-beige sweater with three-quarter-length sleeves. It was an outfit Dani recognized because she’d worn the same dress, sweater, and hat many times.
Same outfit. Same hair color. An impostor.
The woman stood at the door for a full minute before the bell rang. Not once did she look at the women conversing behind her. When the door opened, she waved at someone inside the classroom. Tinsley, no doubt.
Dani’s stomach roiled. Who is this impostor? “You’ve met me twice,” Dani said to Ms. Helm, trying her best to stay calm. “Did you see her face?” she asked in a shaky voice. “Did you talk to her? Couldn’t you tell that she wasn’t me?”
Ms. Helm drew in a shaky breath. “She could have been your twin.”
Dani rubbed her arms. The room began to spin. “Tinsley,” she cried. “Where are you?”
CHAPTER ONE
Five years later . . .
Private investigator Dani Callahan carried her mug to her desk and took a seat. As she sipped her coffee, her gaze fell on the bronze-framed picture of Tinsley on her desk. Tomorrow her daughter would have been missing for five years—five unbearably long years. Long enough that Dani was beginning to forget some of the heart’s most precious gifts—memories. The sound of her laugh, her facial expressions, the little things.